What I love most about the beadable products, is the versatility they provide. I wanted to share a technique I have used in the past to create more organic utensils. In this video, I am using deer antlers, that have been drilled through the center. I choose antlers that are longer then the shaft, and either a glue like an epoxy, or as I used here, a locktight super glue. The reason I chose the super glue, was the container allowed for me to use a 20g needle, which allows me to easily coat the entire inside of the bead. JB weld also has a really nice system in a plunger type of container. After you coat the inside of the bead, you simply put in on the shaft and to finish it off, I like to use either bondo or a plastic/ wood filler. With either option, you can mold, texturize, paint, sand to get your desired finish. The wood fillers can even be found in multiple colors, which is why in this video I chose to use it. Be sure you buy a wood filler that hardens. There are fillers available that don’t harden. With this technique, you can find so many natural products to use with your designs! Beach glass, shells, driftwood, antlers, or even unique vintage items. Once I bought a stash of vintage prayer beads and made a lot of beadable items using those. Just let your creativity lead the way!
TIPS for making giftware
I wanted to share a few “secrets” with you all. A lot of time with the beadable products, especially the pens and pencils, you might find a really cool bead you want to use, but you find that the hole is much larger then the 2mm shaft, and thus you have this funky wobble and your beads often don’t line up perfectly. From years of experience, I have a few tips to share with you! I use these techniques also when I’m making jewelry, especially pendants and earrings too! Basically, I keep a huge stash of pewter spacers on hand in a variety of styles and sizes. I use the spacers essentially to put under the beads on the shaft, or to put in the top and bottom hole of the larger bead. It just depends on the style of the bead I’m attempting to use. There is a lot of just trial and error, but having a good selection of supplies is really key! Hope you enjoy the video! As always, if you have questions, I love teaching and helping others. So please don’t ever hesitate to contact me!
educational video on how to use spacers to prevent misaligned beads on beadable products.
Jewelry Design from Cattail Creek Boutique
Patti of Cattail Creek boutique used the disc shape handmade lampwork glass beads to create a beautiful pair of onyx earrings. I really love her style!
Read MoreLampwork Glass On Beadable Items
I thought I would take a few minutes to show you all what I do with the beadable products. So many of you do such creative things with the beadable products! Polymer clay, fellow glass makers, hand painted wood beads, or just sourcing really unique items and charms! I love seeing what you do! Here are a couple of photos of what I do. I have a style that I have a hard time getting away from.. I guess there is something to say with what you are comfortable with! I tend to lay out the beadable items on my bench and make the beads specifically for the item. That way I can get almost the perfect size. I do take advantage of the clear or black silicone spacers. I like these, as you can get a really nice tight fit with no spinning of the beads. My other secret sauce is that I use red locktight on the threads. Now, this is not necessary, but I want my finished items to be permanent. What I do at art shows, is wait until the customer has made their final decision, and then I apply the locktight.
Ideas for disc shaped beads
Have you guys ever heard of cairn stones? Maybe you’ve seen stacks of stones while out hiking or walking. The idea of them is from ancient times and were used as a marker, or even as burial, or to hide things. While still used for these purposes, a lot of people view them as being zen like, so you might see them in people’s yards, and even in jewelry designs like these earrings! I love making disc shape beads, but to be honest, they are often one of the harder beads to think of a way to use creatively! Most of the time I would wire wrap them flat so they would lay against the skin, or dangle from an earring. One of my silver suppliers made these cage style beads years ago, and with the pandemic, I haven’t seen her in three years. But I’m finally stocked up with loads of these beads and I think they look amazing with the disc shape beads. See what you think!